


the only way of knowing you

by anabelleyoyoyo



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Child Abuse, Harley Keener Needs a Hug, Harley Keener is a Good Bro, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Peter Parker Whump, Protective Harley Keener, Tony Stark Acting as Harley Keener's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-12
Updated: 2020-01-12
Packaged: 2021-02-27 16:29:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,482
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22220068
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anabelleyoyoyo/pseuds/anabelleyoyoyo
Summary: peter parker and harley keener were in the same abusive foster home before tony stark managed to track them down and save his two fav geniuses. their makeshift family goes through the turbulent struggles of dealing with peter and harley’s rough pasts, but tony knows one day they’ll be alright.(title from fine line by harry styles)
Relationships: Harley Keener & Peter Parker, Harley Keener & Tony Stark
Comments: 2
Kudos: 50





	1. Chapter 1

### Chapter 1

Peter and Harley had been at Tony’s house for a week. The brothers, especially Harley, were waiting for the other shoe to drop, for the rose colored glasses to come off and the horror of their new home to emerge.

It’s not that Harley didn’t trust Tony; the man was nice enough when he crash landed in his garage when he was ten. It’s that Harley didn’t trust _anybody_. His life was hard enough before he was being hit with a belt every day, and now that there was peace Harley didn’t know what to do with himself; it felt like a trap.

So, when Peter dropped and shattered a plate during breakfast, Harley prepared himself for the worst. He found himself moving in front of his brother, a subconscious protective remnant of the past.

Peter, however, was panicking. He was a constant ball of anxiety, the abuse really messing with his everyday routines. Always on edge, fight or flight mode, Peter, too, feared for the worst. After being hit for menial things for two years, it was hard to register that Tony wasn’t Alex.

Time seemed to slow as the plate hit the ground. They had been having a nice meal, discussing new Iron Man upgrades. Tony had been asking for the boys opinions about things, much to their wonderment and confusion. But all that was ruined with the porcelain shards on the ground.

Peter could hear his blood rushing through his ears, breathing heavily as he looked from the floor, to Harley, to Tony. The genuine fear in his eyes was something that would haunt Tony at night.

Harley watched as Peter backed into a submissive state, eyes trained on the ground. “I-I’m s-sorry Sir. I can pick it up right away I’m so sorry it was an accident,” Peter rushed out, scrambling to pick up the pieces of the plate in an effort to pacify any anger Tony may have.

“Pete, kiddo,” Tony started, reaching down to help pick up the shattered pieces. Peter flinched back, cutting himself on a shard in the process. Tony lifted his hands in a non-threatening manner. “Same team, Spider-kid. Why don’t I give Harley the first aid kit, and you guys can go calm down in your room? I don’t want you to be scared of me.” Peter’s hard breathing could be heard from across the room as Tony found the first aid kit for Harley. They made eye contact.

“Why don’t you go help your brother? I’ll give you guys some food, and you can stay away until you feel safe again. Nothing bad is going to happen to you in this house.”

Harley took the first aid kit, looking skeptically at Tony as if searching for his motive. After seemingly finding none, he nods, heading after his brother to clean his wound and calm his nerves.

//

A few hours later Harley and Peter thought it was time for them to emerge and talk to Tony. Still wary, but feeling safer than ever, they headed to his lab, Harley leading.

They approached the room, hearing rock music through the door because it was playing so loud. Tony was working on a car, leaning into the hood to tinker with the different parts. He jumped, startled, when he saw he wasn’t alone.

“Jesus, you guys could give me a heart attack, sneaking around like that. Kidding, my heart is fragile. Most things could cause a heart attack.”

“Sorry,” mumbled Peter. “We were always yelled at for being too loud, so I guess we learned to be silent.

Tony looked distraught hearing this, but masked his worry quickly.

“We just wanted to say thank you,” started Harley.

“There’s nothing to be thankful for-“

“But there is. We’ve been in not so great situations, and you being,” he paused. “patient with us and our anxiety is probably the best thing anyone’s done for us. We trust you Tony, it’s just going to be a while until we get there completely.”

“You’re my boys. I’ll be here every step of the way, I promise.”

Peter broke into a run, hugging Tony tightly, finally feeling like there may be a parental figure in his life once again.

Harley hung back, still nervous about the new situation, but Tony kept proving himself to be trustworthy. He couldn’t let his guard down yet, though. They had gone through too much for him to gain hope only to lose it again.

But as he watched his brother hug someone with such intensity, he knew in his gut that Tony was different.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

“Hey Peter, where’s Harley?” Tony asks. It’s 4pm on a Tuesday, and normally the boys come in together.

Peter freezes ever so slightly at his desk. “He probably just had to finish working on something at school,” he says in a faux casual tone. Tony can see right through him, but chooses to ignore it. Harley isn’t a bad kid, he can’t be getting up to anything too mischievous. Still,

“You would tell me if something was wrong though, right?” Peter has the decency to look sheepish, but nods. 

“Okay then, i’ll be in the lab if you need me.” Peter cares too much about Harley, there’s no way anything too serious could be wrong, right? 

—

Harley was in the middle of a full blown panic attack. He had gotten into a fight earlier, leading to a detention. Not only would he be home late, but he caused trouble at school. No doubt the principal was going to call Tony at some point. 

In their last home if Harley had pulled something like this it would’ve been _bad _. No food for a while and beating he would have felt for weeks. Tony has been nice to them so far, but this could be the final straw.__

__

__Harley and Peter had been living with Tony for about a month now, and they’ve been practically angels. A few hiccups they’ve worked past, but who knows how Tony will react to an actual delinquent action._ _

__

___I can’t fucking go home. I _can’t, Harley thought to himself. He was already late with a black eye and no excuse; it couldn’t get much worse. But every time Harley got closers to the Tower, his anxiety got the best of him and he made the block again.__ _ _

____ _ _

____He worked up the nerve to walk in around 8. Harley hesitantly opened the door, seeing if he could sneak in quietly, but then;_ _ _ _

____ _ _

____“Harley, where have you been?”_ _ _ _

____ _ _

_____Shit. He sounds mad._ _ _ _ _

______ _ _ _ _

______Harley could barley focus beyond his panic._ _ _ _ _ _

______ _ _ _ _

______“-if you just tell me where you’ll be. You know I trust you guys. H-Harley what happened to your face?”_ _ _ _ _ _

______ _ _ _ _

______His face? Oh. Right. The fight. The other guy gave him a bigass black eye._ _ _ _ _ _

______ _ _ _ _

______Harley weighed his options. He was in too deep now. Couldn’t lie, had to just own up to it and suffer the consequences._ _ _ _ _ _

______ _ _ _ _

______“Harley?”_ _ _ _ _ _

______ _ _ _ _

______His breath hitched, eyes trained on the floor as he hunched in on himself. “I-I got into a fight earlier sir,” Harley said in a quiet tone. “That’s why I was late. I got detention.”_ _ _ _ _ _

______ _ _ _ _

______Tony was stunned. “What happened?” he asked sharply, sharper than intended._ _ _ _ _ _

______ _ _ _ _

______Harley flinched. “Does it matter?”_ _ _ _ _ _

______ _ _ _ _

______“Yes it fucking matters! Who started it, why, who’s at fault, I don’t want you getting in trouble for something that asshole did-“_ _ _ _ _ _

______ _ _ _ _

______It felt like Harley was underwater. Tony’s yelling was fading and all he could focus on was his own ragged breathing._ _ _ _ _ _

______ _ _ _ _

______“Just hit me already! I know I fucked up just get it over with!”_ _ _ _ _ _

______ _ _ _ _

______That shut Tony up. “What?”_ _ _ _ _ _

______ _ _ _ _

______“Look I-I know,” Harley started, stuttering,” I know that I shouldn’t have fought him. T-That I shouldn’t have come home late. Y-you don’t have to t-tell me.” He lowered his head. “Please just get it over with. The waiting is worse than anything you could do to me.”_ _ _ _ _ _

______ _ _ _ _

______Harley shut his eyes tight, bracing for blows that never came._ _ _ _ _ _

______ _ _ _ _

______“Harls,” Tony said, “Open your eyes for me.”_ _ _ _ _ _

______ _ _ _ _

______As Harley hesitantly opened his eyes, he saw that Tony was standing there, very much not about to whip him with his belt._ _ _ _ _ _

______ _ _ _ _

______“Kiddo, I’m not gonna hit you. I’m never gonna hit you. I’m sorry I yelled; I lose my temper a little sometimes, you know that. I’m not mad you got in a fight, I was just worried when you didn’t come home on time. Next time, just tell me. I won’t be mad I swear. I bet the other kid deserved it. But you definitely don’t deserve to be hit. Not be me, not by anyone. Okay?”_ _ _ _ _ _

______ _ _ _ _

______Shakily, Harley nodded. “I’m sorry I yelled.”_ _ _ _ _ _

______ _ _ _ _

______“It’s alright. Now, let’s get you some dinner. I bet Peter’s wondering how you are.”_ _ _ _ _ _

______ _ _ _ _

______As they walked away, Tony and Harley both felt a little lighter and a little closer to feeling safe in their family._ _ _ _ _ _


End file.
